Wait a minute, I've read that they and other brokers did not halt trade, they stopped or limited purchasing but not selling. Not only that, some of their customers apparently were informed about this beforehand (as alleged by insiders on Twitter).
People argue that this is criminal market manipulation.
> I've read that they and other brokers did not halt trade, they stopped or limited purchasing but not selling.
you are correct, I used the term "trade halt" incorrectly. i clumsily meant the portion of trading that was has halted, which is neither clear nor an appropriate usage of the term.
> People argue that this is criminal market manipulation.
shrug. some people wouldve said that if it WAS a full trade halt - if people can't sell to get their gains before a crash, thats illegal market manipulation right?
regardless, it seems clear that RH couldnt cover more volatile stock buys so they halted volatile stock buying. maybe they shouldve taken different actions, but they have well-known legal and contractual requirements about liquidity and cash-holdings for the volatile stock trades they broker.
People argue that this is criminal market manipulation.